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Create a user-managed notebooks instance
by using the Google Cloud console
Learn how to create
a Vertex AI Workbench user-managed notebooks instance
and open JupyterLab by using the Google Cloud console.
This page also describes how to stop, start, reset, or delete
a user-managed notebooks instance.
To follow step-by-step guidance for this task directly in the
Google Cloud console, click Guide me:
Sign in to your Google Cloud account. If you're new to
Google Cloud,
create an account to evaluate how our products perform in
real-world scenarios. New customers also get $300 in free credits to
run, test, and deploy workloads.
In the Google Cloud console, on the project selector page,
select or create a Google Cloud project.
When you finish the tasks that are described in this document, you can avoid
continued billing by deleting the resources that you created. For more information, see
Clean up.
Open JupyterLab
After you create your instance, Vertex AI Workbench automatically starts
the instance. When the instance is ready to use, Vertex AI Workbench
activates an Open JupyterLab link.
Next to your user-managed notebooks instance's name,
click Open JupyterLab.
Your user-managed notebooks instance opens JupyterLab.
Open a new notebook file
Select File > New > Notebook.
In the Select Kernel dialog, select Python 3,
and then click Select.
Your new notebook file opens.
Change the kernel
You can change the kernel of your JupyterLab notebook file from the menu
or in the file.
Menu
In JupyterLab, on the Kernel menu, click Change kernel.
In the Select Kernel dialog, select another kernel to use
and then click Select.
In the file
In your JupyterLab notebook file, click the kernel name.
In the Select Kernel dialog, select another kernel to use
and then click Select.
Stop your instance
In the Google Cloud console, go to the User-managed notebooks page.
Resetting a compute instance forcibly wipes the memory contents of your instance
and resets the instance to its initial state. To learn more about how resetting
an instance works, see
Resetting an instance.
In the Google Cloud console, go to the User-managed notebooks page.
Select the row containing the instance that you want to delete.
Click deleteDelete.
(Depending on the size of your window,
the Delete button might be in
the more_vert options menu.)
To confirm, click Delete.
What's next
Try one of the tutorials that is included
in your new user-managed notebooks instance.
In the JupyterLab
folderFile Browser,
open the tutorials folder,
and open one of the notebook files.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Hard to understand","hardToUnderstand","thumb-down"],["Incorrect information or sample code","incorrectInformationOrSampleCode","thumb-down"],["Missing the information/samples I need","missingTheInformationSamplesINeed","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-28 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Quickstart: Create a user-managed notebooks instance by using the Google Cloud console\n\nCreate a user-managed notebooks instance\nby using the Google Cloud console\n==========================================================================\n\n\n| Vertex AI Workbench user-managed notebooks is\n| [deprecated](/vertex-ai/docs/deprecations). On\n| April 14, 2025, support for\n| user-managed notebooks will end and the ability to create user-managed notebooks instances\n| will be removed. Existing instances will continue to function\n| but patches, updates, and upgrades won't be available. To continue using\n| Vertex AI Workbench, we recommend that you\n| [migrate\n| your user-managed notebooks instances to Vertex AI Workbench instances](/vertex-ai/docs/workbench/user-managed/migrate-to-instances).\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nLearn how to create\na Vertex AI Workbench user-managed notebooks instance\nand open JupyterLab by using the Google Cloud console.\nThis page also describes how to stop, start, reset, or delete\na user-managed notebooks instance.\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\nTo follow step-by-step guidance for this task directly in the\nGoogle Cloud console, click **Guide me**:\n\n[Guide me](https://console.cloud.google.com/freetrial?redirectPath=/?walkthrough_id=vertex-ai--workbench--user-managed--create-user-managed-notebooks-instance-console-quickstart)\n\n*** ** * ** ***\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nBefore you begin\n----------------\n\n- Sign in to your Google Cloud account. If you're new to Google Cloud, [create an account](https://console.cloud.google.com/freetrial) to evaluate how our products perform in real-world scenarios. New customers also get $300 in free credits to run, test, and deploy workloads.\n- In the Google Cloud console, on the project selector page,\n select or create a Google Cloud project.\n\n | **Note**: If you don't plan to keep the resources that you create in this procedure, create a project instead of selecting an existing project. After you finish these steps, you can delete the project, removing all resources associated with the project.\n\n [Go to project selector](https://console.cloud.google.com/projectselector2/home/dashboard)\n-\n [Verify that billing is enabled for your Google Cloud project](/billing/docs/how-to/verify-billing-enabled#confirm_billing_is_enabled_on_a_project).\n\n-\n\n\n Enable the Notebooks API.\n\n\n [Enable the API](https://console.cloud.google.com/flows/enableapi?apiid=notebooks.googleapis.com&redirect=https://console.cloud.google.com)\n\n- In the Google Cloud console, on the project selector page,\n select or create a Google Cloud project.\n\n | **Note**: If you don't plan to keep the resources that you create in this procedure, create a project instead of selecting an existing project. After you finish these steps, you can delete the project, removing all resources associated with the project.\n\n [Go to project selector](https://console.cloud.google.com/projectselector2/home/dashboard)\n-\n [Verify that billing is enabled for your Google Cloud project](/billing/docs/how-to/verify-billing-enabled#confirm_billing_is_enabled_on_a_project).\n\n-\n\n\n Enable the Notebooks API.\n\n\n [Enable the API](https://console.cloud.google.com/flows/enableapi?apiid=notebooks.googleapis.com&redirect=https://console.cloud.google.com)\n\n\u003cbr /\u003e\n\nCreate an instance\n------------------\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **User-managed notebooks** page.\n\n [Go to User-managed notebooks](https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/workbench/user-managed)\n2. Click add_box **Create new**.\n\n3. For **Name** , enter `my-instance`.\n\n4. Click **Create**.\n\nWhen you finish the tasks that are described in this document, you can avoid\ncontinued billing by deleting the resources that you created. For more information, see\n[Clean up](#clean-up).\n\nOpen JupyterLab\n---------------\n\nAfter you create your instance, Vertex AI Workbench automatically starts\nthe instance. When the instance is ready to use, Vertex AI Workbench\nactivates an **Open JupyterLab** link.\n\n1. Next to your user-managed notebooks instance's name,\n click **Open JupyterLab**.\n\n Your user-managed notebooks instance opens JupyterLab.\n\nOpen a new notebook file\n------------------------\n\n1. Select **File \\\u003e New \\\u003e Notebook**.\n\n2. In the **Select Kernel** dialog, select **Python 3** ,\n and then click **Select**.\n\n3. Your new notebook file opens.\n\nChange the kernel\n-----------------\n\nYou can change the kernel of your JupyterLab notebook file from the menu\nor in the file. \n\n### Menu\n\n1. In JupyterLab, on the **Kernel** menu, click **Change kernel**.\n\n2. In the **Select Kernel** dialog, select another kernel to use\n and then click **Select**.\n\n### In the file\n\n1. In your JupyterLab notebook file, click the kernel name.\n\n2. In the **Select Kernel** dialog, select another kernel to use\n and then click **Select**.\n\nStop your instance\n------------------\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **User-managed notebooks** page.\n\n [Go to User-managed notebooks](https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/workbench/user-managed)\n2. Select the instance that you want to stop.\n\n3. Click stop **Stop**.\n\nStart your instance\n-------------------\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **User-managed notebooks** page.\n\n [Go to User-managed notebooks](https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/workbench/user-managed)\n2. Select the instance that you want to start.\n\n3. Click play_arrow **Start**.\n\nReset your instance\n-------------------\n\nResetting a compute instance forcibly wipes the memory contents of your instance\nand resets the instance to its initial state. To learn more about how resetting\nan instance works, see\n[Resetting an instance](/compute/docs/instances/suspend-stop-reset-instances-overview#resetting-instance).\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **User-managed notebooks** page.\n\n [Go to User-managed notebooks](https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/workbench/user-managed)\n2. Select the instance that you want to reset.\n\n3. Click\n\n **Reset** , and then click **Reset** to confirm.\n\nClean up\n--------\n\n\nTo avoid incurring charges to your Google Cloud account for\nthe resources used on this page, follow these steps.\n\nIf you created a new project to learn about\nVertex AI Workbench user-managed notebooks\nand you no longer need the project, then\n[delete the project](https://console.cloud.google.com/cloud-resource-manager).\n\nIf you used an existing Google Cloud project, then delete the resources\nyou created to avoid incurring charges to your account:\n\n1. In the Google Cloud console, go to the **User-managed notebooks** page.\n\n [Go to User-managed notebooks](https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/workbench/user-managed)\n2. Select the row containing the instance that you want to delete.\n\n3. Click delete **Delete** .\n (Depending on the size of your window,\n the **Delete** button might be in\n the more_vert options menu.)\n\n4. To confirm, click **Delete**.\n\nWhat's next\n-----------\n\n- Try one of the tutorials that is included\n in your new user-managed notebooks instance.\n In the JupyterLab\n folder **File Browser** ,\n open the **tutorials** folder,\n and open one of the notebook files.\n\n- [Read the Introduction to user-managed notebooks](/vertex-ai/docs/workbench/user-managed/introduction).\n\n- [Create a user-managed notebooks instance\n with specific properties](/vertex-ai/docs/workbench/user-managed/create-new#create-with-options)."]]
Reset, and then click Reset to confirm.